Wednesday, October 26, 2011

News round-up

ANGLICANS are divided over their attitude to the
anti-capitalist protesters now occupying St Paul’s
Cathedral Churchyard – the closest the demonstrators could get to the London
Stock Exchange.

On the first day of
the protest, Saturday 15thOctober, the Dean of St Paul’s, Giles Fraser,
welcomed the protesters and told the police not to move them on from the
church’s grounds.

Since then a friendly
relationship developed and the protesters have been well organised and well
behaved.

But many in the
Church of England are critical of Fraser’s position. They complained the Cathedral was
losing revenue from tourists due to the encampment – when local shops say the
camp has drawn tourists and revenues have increased.

Then the Cathedral
was forced to close, supposedly on health and safety grounds.

The tents are
arranged at a distance from the cathedral doors, leaving plenty of free access
for tourists and worshippers. And the camp is well organised, taking care of
litter, sanitation and other possible hazards.

There is continuous
friendly liaison between the campers and the cathedral staff.

Independent safety
officers have said it presents no significant threat to the cathedral.

The campers voted to
stay put when senior church officials asked them to leave. Rumours spread that
the Church was being pressured by City financiers to evict the encampment.

A strong faction in
the Church of England criticised Giles Fraser for his original act of welcome but
others are supporting the protestors for their pro-justice stance, typically
making frequent references to Jesus in the Temple.

The Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres is
calling on the campers to leave but other clerics are threatening to resign if
the protesters are forced from church land.

Teachers lobby MPs

THOUSANDS of teachers from all over Britain
came to Westminster on Wednesday to
hold a rally and lobby their MPs over the changes to their pensions, that will
see them paying far more and getting far less.

The rally and lobby
are also a significant stage in the build up to the national strike of public
sector workers on 30thNovember.

It is also
significant for the first action to involve all the teaching unions together.

The Government
changes will raise the retirement age to 68 and increase pension contributions
by 50 per cent in 2014. And the pensions paid will be linked to the consumer
prices index instead of the retail prices index – meaning lower pensions.

The changes affect
teachers and lecturers in England
and Wales, but
workers in Scotland
and Northern Ireland
fear the same reforms could eventually be made to their pensions.

Seven unions took
part in the lobby, including the National Union of Teachers, the National
Association of Head Teachers and the University and College Union.

More than 20 unions
are set to take part in the 30th November strike, which will be accompanied by
meetings and rallies throughout the country. Many unions began balloting for
the action this week.

It is hoped that many
hitherto un-unionised workers will become involved and that the mass strike
action will spread spontaneously into the private sector as a general protest
in defence of pensions and against Government cuts.

Kevin Courtney,
deputy general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said the lobby was
an opportunity for the government to “see sense”.

“I see some real fear
in the eyes of officials when we have our meetings about pensions,” he said.
“They know that the unions are voicing the views of teachers.

“Teachers don’t
believe that they can take a full class of 30 14-year-olds or seven-year-olds
at the age of 68. They are really angry.”

Organising curry workers

THE BANGLADESHI Workers’ Union was
quietly launched a week ago with the aims of bringing trade union
representation to workers in Indian restaurants and curry houses throughout Britain.

It already has 500
members and is in discussions with Unite and the GMB to become affiliate
members.

An estimated
100,000 Bangladeshi Britons working in the curry trade often find themselves
exploited by unscrupulous owners who happily take advantage of their ignorance
of the minimums to which they are entitled.

One of the
organisers, Muhammad Salim Uddin, of Brick Lane
in London’s East End,
has a decent job contract, with a decent wage and holiday entitlement.

But many of his
colleagues are not so fortunate. “I had a friend who worked for six years
straight and never took a holiday," he says. "He was always working,
never had time off. He didn't realise he was entitled to it. He knew nothing
about sick leave. He just came into work all the time."

But the small but
growing band of restaurant workers and community leaders are hoping to change
that, with the creation of the new union aimed at the curry trade and other
industries where Bangladeshi Britons are prominent.